Tag: perfect

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My Own Little Garden of Eden

a dream garden - why mow when you can have this

My own little Garden of Eden would not look like the painting of the same name by Breughel and Rubens. My garden would be a relatively small affair, easily weeded and maintained. I want a compact garden where every inch is utilized and nothing is overgrown.

When I was a very small child, and could not yet read, I would sit with my Grandma Hammons. Together we leafed through her huge old family Bible. I was particularly fascinated with Grandma’s Bible because, in addition to all the wonderful stories, it was filled with full-color illustrations. Some of the illustrations depicting famous Bible events were painted by old masters. One in particular, “The Garden of Eden” by Jan Brueghel and Peter Paul Rubens, both fascinated and perplexed me. Continue reading “My Own Little Garden of Eden”

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Perfect vs. Good Enough

It is tough to be a perfectionist in an imperfect world.

Several years ago, when I was a pizza restaurant manager, I had a problem.  I wanted everything to be perfect. I wanted the restaurant to be spotless.  I wanted the pizzas to be made to spec.  I wanted the stock rotated so that the first in was the first out.  I wanted my employees to be on time, to be dressed according to the code, and to know their jobs.  I wanted smiles.

I wanted my customers to be happy, the bank deposit to be made on time, and the produce to arrive when it should. In short, I sweated the details because I was a perfectionist.  But that’s a good thing, right?  Maybe not so much.  That year my staff had a birthday surprise for me when they presented me with a gift.  I unwrapped the long slender package and inside was a riding crop. They were only half-kidding. Continue reading “Perfect vs. Good Enough”